Animal Instincts

By Thomas Williams

I catch my breath as I lock eyes on them in the clearing, the dappled sunlight illuminating the doe’s feathery white tail. I take a moment to marvel before tapping my daughter’s arm and gesturing silently in their direction.

Then it hits me. The scene mirrors us. The doe, watchful and twitchy, protective, tense, scanning the surroundings warily, eyes darting to and from her kin as the younger creature pulls noisily and carelessly at the leaves of a mulberry tree. I smile at its innocent naivety and look towards my daughter. Her breathing has slowed as she draws up the rifle.